Budget 2022: Digital health infra needs focus, says CEO of Fortis Healthcare

The Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted the necessity for establishing an affordable and accessible healthcare ecosystem. For last two years in the pandemic, there has been a change in the outlook towards healthcare emergencies and strongly highlighted the need for more investments to strengthen healthcare infrastructure not only in metro cities but Tier 2-3 towns as well. Dr Ashutosh Raghuvanshi, MD and CEO, Fortis Healthcare, spoke to Business Today about a new emerging healthcare ecosystem, Covid-19 pandemic impacting medical tourism, company’s investment plans and the upcoming Budget. Edited excerpts.

 

BT: How is the outlook of Indian healthcare ecosystem is changing?  

 

Ashutosh Raghuvanshi (AR): The need of the hour is to ensure greater synergies between the public and the private healthcare sectors. Digital healthcare applications helped us provide continuous treatment amidst the pandemic. It is encouraging to see that people have adapted to the tele-medicine practice – keeping pace with the demand of the hour. Digital healthcare delivery has a bright future in India, and we will observe the digitally enabled services speed-rolling phenomenally in the next 3-5 years. 

Overall, today, many countries in the world have realised the potential of the Indian healthcare sector, and in 2022, it will attract greater investments and support from both domestic and global industry which will steer both employment and business growth. We will see more AI-based start-ups which are expected to make healthcare more accessible than ever. Existing healthcare organisations will look at expanding the service delivery in peri urban and rural areas Overall, year 2022 looks stable, the sector is on its recovery phase and has great potential to contribute to 5 trillion economy goal. 

 

BT: What has been the impact of Omicron variant on medical tourism in India? By when do you think this segment will come back to pre-Covid levels? 

 

AR: In the context of Covid-19 pandemic since last two years, medical tourism sector in India has been badly hit. With the current emergence of Omicron variant, once again medical tourism will be impacted not only in India but across the globe. While the non-Covid business has started recovering, medical tourism unfortunately is not going to be better until international travel resumes. Gaining back normalcy of the hospital business is what we are working at. 

We saw 50 per cent of our international business getting back to normal but with the Omicron variant and restrictions on international travel, we are expecting a decline in this vertical.  It is very unlikely that the international business will come back to pre-Covid times anytime soon. 

  

BT: Is India well equipped to deal with the new variant? 

 

AR: With the spread of the new Omicron variant, hospitals are gearing up again for an impending third wave of the pandemic. It seems that Omicron is mild in nature and in very few instances, we are seeing the need for hospitalisation, unlike the previous variants. But it is better to be cautious. Ensuring the safety for patients is crucial for every healthcare provider. 

Oxygen-related infrastructure has been ramped up and PSA plants have been created both in public and private sectors. The availability of drugs and pharma is better, and a large section of the society has also received at least one dose of the vaccine. In case there is any new wave, facilities like telemedicine, E-ICUs will help us provide continuous treatment to the patients. 

 

BT: What are the new areas of investment you would be looking at in 2022?   

AR: We have initiated investments for advanced medical equipment such as Cath Labs, neuro microscopes, bone marrow transplant units and the like in select facilities. Fortis Healthcare has made significant investments in enabling hospitals across our chain to provide telemedicine services to patients. We plan to add 1300 beds in the next two-three years in select facilities such as Shalimar Bagh, Noida, Gurugram, Mulund, Mohali and Kolkata. We are focusing on strengthening the infrastructure in our centers by bringing in next generation technologies. 

In the last two years, we have invested heavily in equipping our hospitals across the country with advanced medical technologies, machineries and onboarding senior clinicians. We are also planning to establish our hospital in Gurugram as a preferred destination for oncological treatment in India. 

 

BT: What are your expectations from the upcoming budget? 

 

AR: The Government had rightly placed health and well-being as the first of the six pillars in the Union Budget 2021 and the focus must continue in 2022 too. Firstly, the outlay for healthcare infrastructure needs to be increased further. Since the hospital sector is at the forefront as cases in India surge again, facilities in Tier 2-3 towns need to be equipped with diagnostic centers, ventilators, ICUs, critical care facilities and oxygen plants. 

We need greater investment in non-communicable diseases programs as comorbidities are driving pandemic deaths and long Covid ailments. There is an urgent need to allocate a separate budget for a national campaign around preventive health, testing and screening as these are key to reduce the overall disease burden in India. The Government needs to also focus on building asset-light models powered by digital health to drive out-of-hospital care, remote monitoring and home care to reduce the burden on hospitals. We need to strengthen the digital ecosystem, speed up adoption of new technologies and foster telemedicine for diagnosis and treatment. 

There needs to be more investment in advanced training and capacity building programs through affordable study tools and courses for doctors, nurses and healthcare workers in intensive and critical care, pulmonology, cardiology, oncology, emergency and trauma care. 

Healthcare should be accorded priority status so that the sector can derive benefit from the GST transition and providers and healthcare service delivery institutions can avail loans at lower rates and extended tenure. It is also essential that the Government reduces duty and cess for critical care and life saving equipment and drugs to reduce costs for both providers and patients. 

  

BT: Will the Indian healthcare sector attract more foreign investment in 2022 as compared to previous years? 

AR: The world has realised the potential of the Indian healthcare sector and this year it will attract greater investments and support from both domestic and global industry, which will steer employment and business growth. The sector has been growing at a CAGR of 22 per cent since 2016, directly giving employment to 4.7 million people. The Covid-19 pandemic has not only thrown up challenges but also given several opportunities for the country to grow. 

The crisis has opened the flood gates for Indian start-ups, many of whom have risen to the occasion and accelerated the development of low-cost, scalable and quick solutions. Furthermore, the Covid-19 pandemic is providing an impetus to the expansion of telemedicine and the home healthcare market in the country. All these factors combined make India’s healthcare industry ripe for investment. I urge the world to ‘INVEST IN INDIA’. 

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